| Nageshwar Temple | |
|---|---|
Nageshwar Jyotirlinga | |
 Nageshwar Jyotirling Dwarka Gujarat | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Devbhumi Dwarka |
| Deity | Shiva |
| Festivals | Maha Shivaratri |
| Location | |
| Location | Dwarka |
| State | Gujarat |
| Country | India |
  NageshwarJyotirlinga location in India | |
| Coordinates | 22°20′09″N69°05′13″E / 22.3359°N 69.0869°E /22.3359; 69.0869 |
| Temple | 8668856667 |
| Website | |
| www.nageshwarjyotirling.in | |
Nageshwar Temple is aHindu temple dedicated to theHindu godShiva located onDwarka,Gujarat, India. It is one of the legendary temples mentioned in theShiva Purana and one of the twelveJyotirlingas.
According tothe Shiv Mahapuraan,Brahma (the Creator) andVishnu (the Preserver) once had a disagreement about which of them were supreme.[1] To test them,Shiva pierced the three worlds as an immeasurable pillar of light, theJyotirlinga.Vishnu andBrahma parted company to determine the extent of each end of the pillar.Brahma, who had set off upward, lied that he had discovered the upper end of the pillar, butVishnu, who had gone in the direction of the base of the pillar, admitted that he had not.Shiva then appeared as a secondJyotirlinga and cursedBrahma, telling him that he would have no place in the ceremonies. TheJyotirlinga is the supreme indivisible reality from whichShiva appears. Jyothirlinga shrines commemorate this time whenShiva appeared.[2][3] It was believed that there were originally sixty-four jyotirlingas. Twelve are considered to be especially auspicious and holy.[1] Each of the twelve sites takes the name of the presiding deity and each is considered a separate manifestation ofShiva.[4] At all these sites, the primary deity is alingam representing the beginning less and endlessStambha pillar, symbolizing the Shiva's infinite nature.[4][5][6] The twelve jyothirlinga areSomnath inGujarat,Mallikarjuna atSrisailam inAndhra Pradesh,Mahakaleswar atUjjain inMadhya Pradesh,Omkareshwar inMadhya Pradesh,Kedarnath inHimalayas,Bhimashankar inMaharashtra,Viswanath atVaranasi inUttar Pradesh,Triambakeshwar inMaharashtra,Vaidyanath atDeoghar inJharkhand,Nageshvara inGujarat,Rameshwar atRameswaram inTamil Nadu andGrishneshwar atAurangabad inMaharashtra.[1][7]
Nageshvara Jyotirlinga is situated in the Daarukavanam forest in Gujarat.[8]
TheShiva Purana says NageshvaraJyotirlinga is in 'the Darukavana', which is an ancient name of a forest in India. 'Darukavana' finds mention in Indian epics, such asKamyakavana,Dvaitavana,Dandakavana.
A narrative in theShiva Purana about the Nageshvara Jyotirlinga tells of a demon named Daruk, who attacked a Shiva devotee named Supriya and imprisoned him along with many others in his city of Darukavana, a city under the sea inhabited by sea snakes and demons. At the urgent exhortations of Supriya, the prisoners started to chant the holy mantra of Shiva and immediately thereafter Lord Shiva appeared and the demon was vanquished,[9] later residing there in the form of a Jyotirlinga. The demon had a wife, a demoness namedDaruka who worshipped Mata Parvati. As a result of her penance and devotion, Mata Parvati enabled her to master the forest where she performed her devotions, and renamed the forest 'Darukavana' in her honour. Wherever Daruka went the forest followed her. In order to save the demons of Darukavana from the punishment of the gods, Daruk summoned up the power Parvati had given her. She then moved the entire forest into the sea where they continued their campaign against the hermits, kidnapping people and keeping them confined in their new lair under the sea, which was how that great Shiva devotee, Supriya, had wound up there.[9]
The arrival of Supriya caused a revolution. He set up a lingam and made the prisoners recite the mantraOm Namaha Shivay in honour of Shiva while he prayed to the lingam. The demons' response to the chanting was to attempt to kill Supriya, though they were thwarted when Shiva appeared and handed him a divine weapon that saved his life. Daruka and the demons were defeated and Parvati saved the remaining demons. The lingam that Supriya had set up was called Nagesha; it is the tenth lingam.[9] Shiva once again assumed the form of a Jyotirlinga with the name Nageshwar, while the Goddess Parvati was known as Nageshwari. Lord Shiva then announced that he would show the correct path to those who would worship him.
Shiva Mahapurana indicates that the location was on Western (Arabian) Sea. In Kotirudra Samhita, Chapter 29, the following shloka says
पश्चिमे सागरे तस्य वनं सर्वसमृद्धिमत् ।
योजनानां षोडशभिर्विस्तृतं सर्वतो दिशम् ॥ ४ ॥
The actual location of the legendary forest of Darukavana is still debated. No other important clues indicate the location of the Jyotirlinga. 'Darukavana' on the Western Sea remains the only clue.
The name Darukavana, named after Queen Daruka, is possibly derived fromdaruvana (forest ofdeodar trees, or simply, forest of wood), is thought to exist in Almora. Deodar (daru vriksha) is found abundantly only in the western Himalayas, not in peninsular India. Deodar trees have been associated with Lord Shiva in ancient Hindu texts. Hindu sages used to reside and perform meditation in deodar forests to please Lord Shiva. Also, according to the ancient treatisePrasadmandanam,
"हिमाद्रेरूत्तरे पार्श्वे देवदारूवनं परम् पावनं शंकरस्थानं तत्र् सर्वे शिवार्चिताः।"
Because of this the 'Jageswara' temple in Almora, Uttarakhand is commonly identified as Nageshvara Jyotirlinga.
The written name of Darukavana could be misread as 'Dwarakavana' which would point to the Nageswara temple at Dwaraka. However, no forest is in this part of Dwaraka that finds mention in any of the Indian epics. The narratives of Shri Krishna, mention Somanatha and the adjoining Prabhasa tirtha, but not Nageswara or Darukavana in Dwaraka.
Darukavana might exist next to the Vindhya Mountains. It is south-southwest of the Vindhyas extending to the sea in the west. In theDvadasha Jyotirlinga Stotra (6),[10]Shankaracharya praised this Jyotirlinga asNaganath:
"Yamye sadange nagaretiramye vibhushitangam vividhaishcha bhogai Sadbhaktimuktipradamishamekam shrinaganatham sharanam prapadye"
This could be taken to mean that it is located in the south ['yamye'] at the town of 'Sadanga', which was the ancient name of Aundh in Maharashtra, south of the Jageswara shrine in Uttarakhand and west of Dwaraka Nageshvara.
Nearest Airport:Jamnagar
Nearest Railway Station:Dwarka andOkha
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